Races and Creatures


Superhuman
The superhuman beings detailed below have their origins in the upper worlds rather than in Rhadixe. In order to manifest in Rhadixe, these entities must acquire a material body, typically through unnatural means.

Angels
Angels are beings of light who were created by the God Enuzir. Their connection with their creator enables them to wield the power of thaumaturgy, a kind of "holy magic" that uses an energy called divina, instead of faera. All angels are male except for Thiyavat. Angels come in five ranks:
Archangels
The most powerful angels, created by Enuzir for the express purposes of war against the daemons. Originally there were seven Archangels. Their names, titles/appearances, and primary roles are as follows:
  • Metatriah: The Leonid (sacred lion); guards inner parts of Neheva
  • Chamiour: The Throne; guards outer parts of Neheva and oversees the gelbarim (see below)
  • Zadaphael: The Taurhemoth (sacred bull); oversees angelic forces in Codixe
  • Yuriel: The Aqwill (sacred eagle); oversees angelic forces in Rhadixe
  • Gabiriel: The Herald; head of espionage & intelligence
  • Hisrafel: The Harbinger; head of celestial technology research
  • Lazramael: The Ophidion (sacred serpent); fallen
Archangels exist only in the upper worlds, and are incapable of possession, as they are too "large" (in spirit terms) to fit into any kind of material body. Their forms glow brightly with radiant white light, making it difficult for lesser creatures to look upon them or to make out their features distinctly.
Zeraphim
Initially the most common type of angel. In the beginning, they combined their powers under Enuzir's direction to create life in Rhadixe. Zeraphim can only remain in Rhadixe for a short time, by posessing a human being. Typically, they will only employ the most devoutly Righteous for this purpose. Even under the best of circumstances, however, zeraphim find it difficult to communicate through a human body. In aetherial form, zeraphim have golden wings.
Keraphim
Warrior angels who were created specifically for battling against the daemons in the upper worlds. By the time of the novel's main action, most zeraphim have been converted into keraphim, as the difference between the two is more one of function than of difference in power. Accordingly, keraphim are like zeraphim in that they can only appear in Rhadixe for a short time, via possession, and tend to communicate somewhat cryptically while doing so. In aetherial form, keraphim have silver wings.
Gelbarim
These angels gather the souls of creatures who have died, and transport them to Neheva. Because of this role, they are often attacked by daemons, and must be protected by other angels since they have a limited ability to defend themselves. Gelbarim do not have a humanoid form, instead appearing as massive orbs of light. In theory, they could possess a human being, but it does not serve their puproses to appear in Rhadixe. Instead, they pursue aetherials in either Codixe or the astral.
Irin
These angels are created as incomplete souls, then fused with the soul of a human being to bring them to life. This process gives the angel a permanent human body, but the angelic soul "overwrites" that of the human, such that only the angel remains as a conscious being. The role of irin on Rhadixe has varied over time. During some eras, they have wielded political power; in other eras, they have fallen out of favor because of their susceptibility to the weaknesses of the flesh. The one constant has been, so long as there have been irin in Rhadixe, they have acted as missionaries, keen to convince human beings to submit - willingly or not - to the authority of the angels. In aetherial form, irin have white wings. They can be further subdivided according to the following functions:

Ministers
These irin lead worship in Righteous churches. They preach to humans, listen to their confessions, and either grant them forgiveness or punish them for transgressions. Before there were irin, a zeraph would possess the (human) Elder of a congregation in order to interact with the Righteous in Rhadixe. But since the communication of zeraphim through humans is imperfect and the possession only temporary, having an angel who could actually live amongst the humans permanently and act as their spiritual leader proved to be a superior arrangement. In modern times, the vast majority of irin serve as Ministers.
Vanquishers
Historically, these irin led the invading forces of the Celesti against the Tenebrae, and subsequently engaged in additional military activities to clear the continent of Teneb for Celesti settlers. Angel-led militias continued to exist up until the time of the Scandal Wars, but were forbidden afterward. By modern times, all angels who were previously Vanquishers have become either Ministers or Watchers.
Watchers
This group of irin were initially formed to investigate and halt corruption amongst their brethren, particularly those in political power during the first half of the twentieth century. During the Scandal Wars, they helped humans subdue the corrupt irin who refused to relinquish their power. After the wars, they turned their attention to monitoring and evaluating the performance of Ministers, and to correcting and punishing any shameful behavior they discovered so as to uphold the reputation of angels as a whole. Watchers also act as researchers, keeping themselves informed of worldly events and trends so as to advise Ministers re: what to preach about, what is the "correct" view for an angel to hold about various controversies, etc. Some Watchers - such as Leith Yzazel and Dhavid Semyaziah - are also involved in secret projects in support of the Purification. All Watchers have a cybernetic implant in their right ear - the Grigori device - which allows them to receive direct instructions from the upper worlds when necessary. The device also enhances Watchers' strength, speed and thaumaturgy powers, enabling them to easily overpower other irin.
Excidia
Not really an official "rank" of angels, these are angels whose souls have been damaged in such a way that they no longer gravitate naturally toward the upper worlds. As a result, they born into a material body, age normally until adulthood, but then experience slowed aging and great longevity. An excidios can eventually die (albeit after a much longer time than humans) and then tend to reincarnate, whereas other angels will return to Enuzir's side if their earthly bodies are destroyed. Excidia are thus "fallen" angels, and are accordingly incapable of thaumaturgy. Excidia have blackened, burnt skeletal wings in their aetherial forms.
Daemons
Any superhuman creature that appeared in the upper worlds after Enuzir, but was not created by him, can be classified as a daemon. While daemons can be of any gender, females tend to form the majority, particularly amongst lilin. There are five classes of daemons:
Archons
The ten Archons arose spontaneously from the Origin, just as Enuzir himself once did. Thus, although less powerful individually than Enuzir, they are nonetheless god-like in their abilities. The Archons are worshipped in the Tenebrae religion of Necroknosticism. They exist only in the upper worlds, as Archons are too "large" to fit into a human vessel for the purposes of possession. They can only manifest in Rhadixe directly via Sin's special powers of invocation.
Diavas
Initially the most common kind of daemon, they were created by the Archons to act as their minions. Like zeraphim, they sought to guide and inspire humans, but also like zeraphim, they can only communicate with humans imperfectly through a possessed subject. In aetherial form, diavas are humanoid, but with black wings (variable type, i.e. dragon, bat, raven, etc.) and horns.
Raksuras
Warrior daemons created to defend the diavas from the keraphim. As with their angelic equivalent, some raksuras were created as such, while many others were diavas until the demands of the war forced them to become soldiers instead of muses. Raksuras and diavas possess roughly the same powers and the same limitations re: making direct contact with humans. In aetherial form, raksuras are humanoid, but with the head and/or hands and/or feet of some kind of animal, e.g. wolf, cat, etc.
Hierukas
A third class of daemon whose powers and limitations are similar to the diavas and raksuras, hierukas' main role is to shepherd ghosts in the afterlife, attempting to prevent them from falling into the clutches of the gelbarim by sequestering them in "ghost bastions" in remote parts of Codixe. In aetherial form, hierukas are humanoid, but have insectine attributes such as antennae, extra arms and/or extra eyes. (Despite this, hierukas still look considerably more human and less insectine/deformed than ghoblins do.)
Lilin
Lilin are the daemon equivalent of irin. The difference is that in an irin, the fusion destroys the human's consciousness and replaces it with that of the angel, whereas in a lilin, the fusion braids the human's soul with the daemon such that both consciousnesses are present to some extent within the same body. Another difference between lilin and irin lies in the attitudes of the cultures in which they typically appear: Righteous religion demands that human beings submit to the will of an irin, whereas to the Necroknostic religion, humans and lilin are to act as equal partners in the building of a better life for all. In aetherial form, lilin have horns but otherwise appear human.

Last update: December 22, 2012



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